2 mins read Ardalan Shekarabi, the country’s social security minister, has said that the measures planned by the Swedish government will now be introduced on July 2 and last through 2020. The new measures will add promotional, time and deposit restrictions, which will hopefully stop players from indulging in irresponsible gambling behaviour and come in the way of gambling-related harm.
According to Shekarabi, all these measures will lead to strengthen protection for consumers. Sweden will now only allow bonuses up to $10 and will restrict weekly deposits to $540, as well as introducing time limits per session for players.
The measures will last throughout the entirety of 2020, prompting many industry leaders, including Betsson and LeoVegas to object and caution that the offshore and unregulated gambling market will receive a disproportionate boost.
Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s gambling regulator, has said that the measures will most likely backfire with more players withdrawing from the regulated market when they can’t find anything. Already, the regulator had to ban 10 operators, rounding up the total number of restricted operators to 21 since 2019.
What does this mean for gamblers in the country? They will have access to the same gambling options, but be more restricted in how much they can gamble and how much time they can spend. There have been some alternative blockchain options, but most of them do not have a Swedish license.
Presently, companies such as BitStarz and Bitcasino operate two of the best online gambling casinos, offering generous bonuses and opportunities for anyone interested to sign up and play. They also go beyond current regulatory requirements in protecting players, while giving them a choice of deposit limits.
These measures will continue to burden player choice, and an unintended consequence could be that players head to crypto casinos.
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